A Great Place to Live, Work and Play

Hello! My name is Myla Kramer and I am very excited to join the Times Union’s blogworld. I love living in Clifton Park and though many people only see the malls and minivans, I hope to pass on my views of the tremendous open space, farms, playgrounds, block parties, volunteers and overall sense of community. Clifton Park may be the largest populated community in Saratoga County, but we have the feel of small-town America. Don’t believe me? Just go to our July 4th parade and you’ll see what I mean.

I have been a resident of Clifton Park since 2002, moving here from the Boston area. And yes, that makes me a Red Sox fan (try not to throw punches, I am still sore from this past season). My husband Adam grew up here and we are proud to be raising our 2-year-old daughter, Emily, in such a wonderful town.

I am a social worker by education, but community servant by profession. I have counseled victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, managed programs for adults with developmental disabilities and organized community planning for emergencies. Right now and for the past 4 ½ years, I have been loving my job working for our residents as Clifton Park’s director of Parks, Recreation and Community Affairs. It is the best job in the world.

I hope to share my experiences at Town Hall, the ins and outs of planning public events, camps and programs, as well as my perspective as a mom and wife, daughter and sister, and auntie to five nephews. I live here, I work here and I play here. I look forward to sharing and I hope you do the same.

Thanks for all of the positive work you do here. I love living in Clifton Park. Compared to some other places I have lived, it’s not “Clifton Park” to me, it’s “Le Parque de Cliftonne.” I love having so many restaurants, stores and a mall so close to me. I love how the local government knows what it is doing. This whole place is beautiful.

I saw something last night that had me laughing. It’s really not a criticism, it’s just…ahhh…
I was at Clifton Park Center to pick something up and I saw someone outside with a dog. I thought nothing of it until I went inside the mall, and saw another dog, and then another, and then in the main part of the mall, I heard tons of barking and saw lots of kids and dogs lined up to see Santa!

This was a cute idea, to be sure, but it was it was impractical in its execution. Whenever a bunch of dogs get together, they can’t help it. They act like a bunch of dogs! They bark, they skirmish, they sniff each other, they mark their territory, they start doing naughty things with each other, and one of them didn’t make it outside in time! Thank God that dog at least did his business in front of the candle store, where the owner was able to warm up some scented oil!

I will say that whoever thought up the “Pictures with Santa and Your Dog” idea was well-intentioned, if a little idealistic.

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